Sumit SinghalSumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination.

As part of a Design, Build & Maintain team, diederendirrix architects made the winning design for the redevelopment of the Krimpen aan den IJssel City Hall in the Netherlands.

In just 3 months’ time, the team – consisting of diederendirrix architects, Martens Aannemingsbedrijf, Imtech and Buro Lubbers – made a design for the building and its surroundings which fulfils the city’s wishes perfectly and meets their high sustainability requirements.

The design uses the existing foundation, on which the new building, lightweight and fully dismountable, will be realised. Reusing the building’s prominent position in the water and preserving its original contours, the designers made, with a new architectural idiom, a recognisable and stylish contemporary building. It houses not only the municipality of Krimpen aan den IJssel, but also Rabobank Krimpenerwaard. The complex is ingeniously engineered: strategic re-use, sustainable energy generation and cradle to cradle materials make it energy neutral and give it an excellent GPR rating.

In the coming months, diederendirrix architects and the design partners Advies- en Ingenieursbureau voor bouwconstructies van de Laar (structural engineering) and Nelissen ingenieursbureau (building physics) will develop the design further, making it ready for construction.